The blog of the "Law and the Humanities" course at the RomaTre University (Law Faculty) directed by Prof. Emanuele Conte. By Stefania Gialdroni and Angela Condello

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Sunday, March 24, 2013

WHO IS LADY JUSTICE?

I have received, and really pleased to publish, this research on representations of Lady Justice all around the world that a group of students of the Law and the Humanities 2013 class has just sent me. The paper was attached to the following email:

"We decided to adress further more the issue on Lady justice. This is our group work. Hopefully it will be so interesting for you as it was for us. Our idea was to publish it on the blog, but for the length of the text and for the images, we decided to send it.
However we would like to read it the rest of our classmates.
Good Sunday!
Your students"

I think it should definetly be published (click on read more at the end of this post: there are a lot of pictures and interesting information).

Lady Justice is a symbol that represents
Justice as a divine concern. Since the ancient Greece period, justice is
considered not a simple value, but a supreme governing principle of human
society. In fact Dike was one of the
three Horai, mythical and divine
personification of the seasons by the Greeks. The Horai had the function to subtract the human becoming arbitrariness
and disorder. The concept of order refer the names of three Horai: Dike (justice); Eunomia (good governance); Irene (peace). They
were daughters of Zeus and Themis. The Romans became 12, as the division of the
day. Dike is the justice of the
State, which was called Iustitiaby the Latins. But the Roman Iustitia
is different from the Greek Themis. She’s
also a goddess of justice, but justice of single man: the sense of justice in
each of us (Inside Justice). Similar to Iustitia
is instead Dike, also called Astrea. About this there is a source in Le
Opere e I Giorni, written by Esiodo, a Greek ancient poet lived during
the VIII-VII centuries. He says that there was a gold ilk before. Men lived as
the gods: they didn’t know the old age, but they remained intent on banquets
and parties. When was the time to die, they gently feel asleep. People did not
have to work and the goods belong to all spontaneously. So talked about Golden
Age: this was the reign of justice and peace. But with the following Reign of
Zeus, also called the Iron Age, disappeared this breed. Then the men were prey
of emptiness: Victa iacet pietas, et
Virgo caede madentes, ultima caelestum, terras Astraea reliquit (Won lies
the pity, and the Virgin Astrea leale the last of the land drenched in blood), Ovidio, Metamorfosi, I, vv. 149-150. So
the crimes of humanity did escape Iustitia
and forced to leave the Land, refuges herself in the sky, where she became the
constellation Virgo. And Astrea is, in fact, the name of
Virgo constellation. Also Virgilio talk about Astrea as a virgin, in his fourth eclogue of the Bucoliche: (vv.
5.7): magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo. Iam redit et Virgo,
redeunt Saturnia regna; iam nova progenies caelo demittitur ab alto (Already the Virgins returns, the reign of Saturn returns; already the new
progeny descends from heaven).

This is the mythological origin of Lady
Justice, but she has been represented in different ways in the various
countries.

Looking for the description and the definition of
“Lady Justice” we have faced its Wikipedia page with several pictures and images
of the Lady Justice’s statues from all over the world.

So we thought that it could be interesting and
stimulating with our classmates to do a sort of little comparison between these
peculiar and evocative sculptures. The personification of justice has
had great importance in painting too.

1.
FOLLOWING THE ARTIST’S BRUSH

There were many artists who, through
allegories, personified justice in a woman; among the most important we can
certainly remember Luca Giordano
(1634-1705).

In his painting, the allegory of Justice, which
now is part of the collection Denis Mahon, there is a woman representing the
justice (one of the four cardinal virtues).

The woman holding the scales and the sword,
which are its attributes; she is supported by an ostrich.

To the right are the Punishment, with a sword
pointing down, and the Reward. In the left corner there is the Deception with a
mask, handing a branch of flowers with a poisonous snake hidden, and behind
there is a net to catch the unwary. On the right there are the Discord and the
Conflict.

Very interesting are the figures flying,
representing the effects of justice: the Clemency (with shield and spear), the
Fame and the Security (holding an anchor and has a nest on the head, which
should mean that children can be raised in safety).

Important is the fact that the figure of
clemency brakes with the shield the sword of Justice.

Another work is The Justice of Raffaello (1483 - 1520).

On a
background with an artificial mosaic is represented the personification of the
Justice, sitting on a throne of clouds, which raised arm to wield the sword and
the scale. There are four children who are holding tables with inscriptions: in
one of this we can read a citation of Justinian: IUS SUUM UNICUIQUE TRIBUIT.

2.
THE UNITED STATED SUPREME COURT’S LADY JUSTICE

First of all is useful to situate in time the SupremeCourtBuilding’s project and its construction, so we
can figure out the historical and political scenario where this building was
born and has metaphorically grown up.

The U.S Supreme
Court was built in 1935, it is situated in
WashingtonD.C.

Yet
surprisingly, despite its role as a coequal branch of government, the Supreme
Court was not provided with a building of its own until 1935, the 146th year of
its existence.

It was Chief
Justice William Howard Taft, who had been President of the United States from 1909 to 1913,
who authorized the construction of a standing and permanent home for the Court.

And for that
reason Architect Cass Gilbert was chosen and then charged by Chief Justice Taft
to design "a building of dignity and importance suitable for its use as
the permanent home of the Supreme Court of the United States”.

Skipping a
building’s accurate description I would like to focus on symbols and
iconography especially, as I’ve just said ,the peculiar Lady Justice’s representation.

The main entrance to the Supreme Court Building is on
the west side, facing the United States Capitol.

On the side of the main steps are seated marble
figures. These large statues are the work of sculptor James Earle Fraser. On
the right is a male figure, the Guardian or Authority of Law.

On the left of the Supreme Court building stairs is
the "Contemplation of Justice", a sculpture crated by James Earle
Fraser, which represents the duties of the Supreme Court.

Fraser described his "Contemplation of Justice" as "a realistic
conception of what I consider a heroic type of person with a head and body
expressive of the beauty and intelligence of justice."

While developing his design, Fraser wrote to the
Architect Gilbert, “I think...the figures must have a meaning, and not be
perfunctory and purely decorative, and after seeing the grandeur and simplicity
of the Supreme Court room, I feel more than ever that the figures in front of
it should symbolize that feeling and be a prelude to the spirit of the
building”.

The statue portrays a seated woman holding a book of
laws with her left arm and a figure of blindfolded Justice is in her right
hand.

Most people sustain that the personification of
Justice comes from the Greek Goddess Dike. But in this case I’ve found out that
there is a specific repeal both to Themis (the Greek goddess of justice and
law) and Justicia (one of the four Roman virtues depicted in the form of a
woman). The representation of Justice symbolizes the fairness and equality of
law, and wears a blindfold as an expression of impartiality and objectivity.

I have never seen such a representation of Lady Justice
before.

This lady is seated and is starring toward the city
centre of Washington as, in my opinion, a symbol of an omniscient eye; I think
that she doesn’t depict the Justice herself but she represent a “reflection” on
Justice in a sort of a meditative and careful way.

As I have already roughing out a few lines before this
female statue is holding both symbols of
Law and Justice: under her left arm there is a book (standing for
“Erudition” and maybe even for the legal “Knowledge”) and in her right hand
there is sculptured maybe the real Lady Justice symbol (as we know it).

Indeed this minor female figure grabbed by the seated
lady is only a part of the “Contemplation of Justice” statue; she is blindfold
(maybe as a symbol of an objective implementation of Justice) and she is
holding the two very easy to recognize badges : the scale (representing the
Justice’s unceasing research for balance and fairness) and the sword
(symbolizing Power and Strength).

I do think that this great statue is an evocative, very
powerful and meaningful model of Lady Justice; it contains not only the very
well-known icons of the Justice but it contemplates the whole idea of Justice
both with legal knowledge and its potential and the equal-oriented application.

3. LADY JUSTICE STATUE ON THE CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT
OF ENGLAND, LONDON (CALLED OLD BAILEY)On the dome above the
court stands a bronze statue of Lady Justice, executed by British sculptor
F.W.Pomeroy. She holds a sword in her right hand and the scales of justice in
her left.

The statue is popularly supposed to show blind Justice; however, the figure is
not blindfolded: the reason is because Lady Justice was originally not
blindfolded and because her "maidenly form" is supposed to guarantee
her impartiality which renders the blindfold redundant.

4. THE FOUNTAIN
OF JUSTICE, GERECHTIGKIETSBRUNNEN

(IN THE OLD CITY
OF BERNSWITZERLAND)

It was made by Hans Gieng's; the statue is a
copy of the original which was destroyed by vandals in 1986.
The statue on the pillar is Iustitia (Lady
Justice),the personification of justice. She is portrayed standing in
gracious counterpoise holding her traditional attributes: 1) sword of justice
in her right hand;2) a balance in her left hand;3) a blindfold over her eyes.
Her costume is fashioned in an antique manner, with sandaled feet, one knee
bared, wearing a decorative golden suit of armour adorned with bas-relief
arabesque over her blue robes.
At the feet of justice four smaller busts crowd the pedestal.
-a Pope(theocracy)
-an Emperor(the monarchy)
-a Sultan(autocracy)
-a Schultheiss(the republic); the 4 forms of government.

SYMBOLISM:
the ensemble represents the supremacy of Justice over all Earthly authorities; a
variant of the medieval pictorial formula of virtue defeating vice. There was a
contemporary belief in the divine nature
of Justice.
While the sword and scales are traditional attributes of Iustitia, the blindfold statue is a novelty; only later it becomes
a common element in personification of Justice and a general symbol for the
principle of equality before the law. The blindfold implies that justice ought
to be done without respect to rank or standing; that a just verdict is arrived
at through introspection rather than with a view to outward looks.

5. LADY JUSTICE FOUNTAINS IN
GERMANY: NUREMBERG & FRANKFURT

Germany is rich of Lady Justice statues. I
want to analyze two of them: the one settled in the city of Nuremberg and the one settled in Frankfurt.
Both have the peculiarity of being placed on the top of a fountain.

The first one is called Tugendbrunnen (fountain of virtues). This iron fountain was placed
in 1584 and completed in 1589 by Benedikt Wurzelbawer.

It’s divided in three
horizontal bands. In the first one there are allegories of six virtues, three
religious and three non religious: faith, love, hope, courage, moderation and
patience. In the second band there are cherubs carrying the two city coats of
arms. On the top of the fountain is placed the highest virtue, justice. As
usual, it is blind with the sword in the right hand and the scales in the other
one.

It’s divided in three horizontal bands. In the
first one there are allegories of six virtues, three religious and three non
religious: faith, love, hope, courage, moderation and patience. In the second
band there are cherubs carrying the two city coats of arms. On the top of the
fountain is placed the highest virtue, justice. As usual, it is blind with the
sword in the right hand and the scales in the other one.The other fountain, which is placed in Romer square in Frankfurt, was erected in 1611
in sandstone. Romer is considered one of the most
beautiful city square and it became very important in middle age when it was
used for king’s coronation. On those occasions, in order to celebrate the new
king, red wine gushed from the fountain.
According to traditional iconography, also this statue represents Lady Justice.
The goddess has the sword (respect of the law) and the scales
(impartiality).Although Lady Justice is
usually blind (incorruptibility), Frankfurt statue is not.

6. BRASILIA:
THE FLOWING LADY

TheladyofBrasiliajusticeis one of themost special lady. Itwas createdin 1961by Oscar Niemeyer,one of the mostimportant architectsof the twentiethcentury, who often loved to createsculpture. Thespecial feature of thisstatueis that it hasflowing
linesand it looks likeunfinished.Infact, it isone
of the symbolsofNiemeyer’s
style.

The message that youcan catch,watching blindfolded,is that the lawis the samefor all without distinction.

7. AUSTRALIA:
COURT OF BRISBANE & VICTORIAN
COURT

InAustralia,
the judicial system isdifferent from
ours.insteadhasmore in commonwiththe
judicial systemof the United States. In fact,the SupremeCourt ofBrisbaneisresponsible only forthe state ofQueensland.

Thelady justiceBrisbanesituatedin the buildingof thesupreme courtofQueenslandrepresents the "Themis", the "Greek
goddessof justice". Thisstatueis very
recentbecause the constructionof
the buildingbegan in2008 and
completedin 2012.This statuehas nospecial, as being a faithful reproduction ofThemis, has
all the symbols of justice. The most
important elementsare of course thesword, a symbolof strength,and balance, the symbol of fairness. The
statue isinan upright position,
with a long dressthat gives usall her femininity, forsome historiansit is thereproductionof both thegoddess Justice and the goddessThemiswho
wasone of the Titans, and symbolized the imposition of order.Particular thing to rememberis what
happensin Juneof 2011,
when you screamscandalwhen it was realizedthat the statuewas no longerin his left handthe balance andyou thought it wasa signof loss ofequityin the district ofQueensland,
but realitythenit
turned outthat was removedonlyfor cleaning purposes.

But we have a modern form of the Lady Justice in the main entrance of Victorian
County Court (court of competent jurisdiction in the state
of Victoria).
The statue was created in 2002, is 6 meters high, the material used is aluminum,
and the author is William Eicholtz.
Representation is detailed and conjures up an image of the relief of ancient
Greek statues.
The lady of justice is seen as a strong female figure, mature and adorned with
lavish garments. Equal of the body not covered by clothing did not have any
details, nor 'age, nor race.
Holding a sword pate, a sign of strength, vigor, and in the other hand is a
sign of the balance equity, objectivity; the eyes are blindfolded
as not to favor any given that the law is equal for all.
In front of his face are placed 5 stars, also present in the Australian flag, representingthe Southern Crossconstellationvisiblesouthern
hemisphere andsouthern hemispherein the night sky, and the meaningthat gives usthe statueis precisely thatof acontrolon the sameside of justicewerepart of theAustralian
nation.

8. THE LADY JUSTICE IN FRANCE: LADY LEGAL CODE

The main entrance of the Assemblée
Nationale is situated square of the Palais Bourbon. In its centre, a statue
representing the Law, sculptured by Feuchère and set up in 1855. It holds in
the right hand a sceptre with the hand of the justice, and in the left hand the
tables of the Law.
Now, we can clearly see a difference: in the right hand, or the hand of justice
pulls no sword but a sceptre, and in his left hand does not have a scale but
the tables of the law, it is also not blindfolded.

This sculpture was
created about 50'anni after the napoleon code, code that is also based on the
right of the Franco-German tradition, characteristic of northern France, the
triumph of reason legal mould Enlightenment able to infuse the natural law and
customary codes, shaping the principles, smoky and generic, the previous law.
The artist, in my opinion, I think we both wanted to "detach" from
the "classical" model of Lady Justice.

9. THE LADY JUSTICE IN JAPAN:
THE TITAN LADY

Amazing, in Japan, we find Themis.
Temi (or Themis) is a figure from Greek mythology. For Esiodo she was a
Titanide, daughter of Uranus and Gaea, and was one of the wives of Zeus.
The meaning of the name Theme is "adamant" and perhaps that is why
this mythological figure was considered not so much a goddess as the
personification of order, justice and rights, so that they used to rely on it
when someone had to pay an oath.

Dante Alighieri mentions the goddess in
purgatory in the famous canto XXXIII, where it is cited for its nebula prophesy.She is called the goddess of Justice, but
Justice of the individual, justice and the sense of what is right inherent in
all of us. The interior justice. The moral law or nature.
Translated.
The sculpture of Themis is depicted with a sword in his right hand and a pair
of scales in his left hand. Particular is the fact that even she is blindfolded.

10. OTTAWA: THE LADY WITH TWO-EDGEG SWORD

The entrance
to the Supreme Court of Canada, building
in Ottawa, is
flanked by two huge statues, Justitia and Veritas (Truth). Both was built by
Walter Seymour Allward.

After they
were commissioned in 1912,the plaster forms for the statues mysteriously
disappeared, only to be found in 1969 in crates in a Ottawa parking lot. Then, they were cast in
bronze the next year.

The statue of Justitia is portrayed as a woman
holding a two-edged sword. She wears a long coat with hood, where she hides the
sword, but she does not wear the traditional blindfold. Some have interpreted
this to mean that the nine Supreme Court Justices of the highest court of the
land, must clearly see the consequences of their decision, and must communicate
them to the Canadian public.

In the end, among all the lady, it seems to be
more “cruel” because it is very similar to the death.

11. LADY JUSTICE IN CZECH REPUBLIC:
THE POWER OF LAW

Lady Justice is a
symbolic figure that represents the justice.
This sculpture is located in front of the Supreme courts of all the world.
In particular, I want to analyze the lady Justice of Olomouc in Czech Republic.
the statue was made by sculptor J. L. Urban. The building in Olomouc
is called the Palace
of Justice.

The Goddess is sitting
(in my opinion this is a clear message of supremacy and serenity), she has a
sword in the right hand and a book in the left that symbolize the strength and
the knowledge of justice. I think that's the best way to join architecture and
law, because it arrives immediately to common people.

12. CONCLUDING WITH THE ITALIAN
JUSTICE EXPERIENCE

Has become a custom to say that the Italian
justice system is inefficient.
This is true, the processes are long and justice is slow; but it would be
incorrect to carry out a critical, without looking at the issue as a whole.
We must remember first of all that a huge amount of work is done by the Italian
courts.
The Italian courts over the last three decades has been deeply involved in a
triple judicial action of vast dimensions: terrorism, against the Mafia and
other organized crime, and corruption: this has undoubtedly slowed the action
and timing of the judiciary.
Italian judges have done their work at the cost of personal sacrifices (some
even paid with their lives) in defence of law and the constitutional. In
the report read at the inauguration of the judicial year by the Procurator
General of the Supreme Court in January 2003, he begins by stating that ours is
"«una giustizia spesso troppo lenta, che si svolge secondo riti e regole
tecniche che sfuggono alla comprensione dei più, con esiti spesso imprevisti,
che inducono perciò taluni ad utilizzarla in modo pretestuoso, o con finalità
dilatorie, e perciò ingiuste».Justice has too many laws and
too many processes.
Civil cases come to a decision in ten years, criminal cases in seven.
Maybe, a solution for civil cases, could be:

- reduce conflict civil.
- recourse to alternative models of dispute resolution (for example,
conciliation proceedings out of court, that there is in Italy, but it is not used).
- need to recover a sense of justice on the part of everyone (citizens and
judicial).

At the time of the Roman law of the situation was different. The process
worked, perhaps (but this is my personal point of view), partly because the
morality of society was different.
Should be that the judges were to make use of their powers to sanction
conducted unfairly or unreasonably in the parties and their defenders (for
example, take this into account in order for costs of the proceedings), and
thus discourage unnecessary litigation.

4 comments:

Wow! This is a very interesting read, thank you to my classmates for publishing this information! I especially found it interesting that the Lady of Justice depicted in France holds a scepter, rather than a sword like the rest of the Lady Justice portrayals. This is an intentional stray from the typical Lady Justice image, and caused me to wonder why this was done so. Similarly to a sword, a scepter seems to symbolize strength and power, but it differs as I believe it is less of a harsh and definitive sense of power as the symbol of a sword implies. Scepters also seem to allude to some sort of royalty as the form of power, rather than the idea of power by force, that the warrior-like sword signifies. These differences in symbolism lead me to conclude that the architect who designed France's lady justice was attempting to portray her as a strong figure, but in a non-threatening way, as less of a warning to the people of what will happen if they breech the codes of Justice, but more of a reminder that Justice will always prevail as the ultimate royalty, or ruler, in France.

Justice as a female figure is a really modern concept; it is interesting to read about its representations in different places. In Luca Giordano’s he embodies this concept and places her in the center of the painting, highlighting its importance as an important cardinal virtue. Also, seeing it first hand, the lady of justice in the Supreme Court in the US is hard to miss! It also identifies a woman’s importance in a historically male-dominated society. Looking at these different figures of lady justice can show something about the various places they are in—which can also be said about laws of each society as well.

As i understand, Mr Justice was the head of the early Roman weights and measures department, whose job it was to weigh the gold coins in the market place, for without sound money, without a fair means of exchange, there would be no peace, no society, no civil-isation - ie no justice.Lady Justice and all the various iconic statues including the use of a woman, are simply that 'icons' ie architypesI would be grateful to hear if this is wrong

Welcome

Welcome everybody to the blog of the "Law and the Humanities" course of the RomaTre Law Faculty! The aim of this Spring Semester course (first proposed in 2008), is to explore the fascinating, hopefully problematical interactions between Law and Literature, Law and Philosophy, Law and Anthropology, Law and Cinema, Law and Architecture, Law and Iconography and even Law and Music with the help of well known professors as well as PhD students coming from all over the world, who present each week a different topic. They express themselves in the new "lingua franca", English, which is particularly suitable for a Law and the Humanities course, as we have only recently "imported" this field of study - at least within the academia - from the United States.
This blog is the virtual place where students can find information about the course program, about the speakers' c.v., about the suggested readings, about the final exam and much more. The course is directed by prof. Emanuele Conte, the chair of Medieval and Modern Legal History at the RomaTre Law Faculty while the blog is administrated by Dr. Stefania Gialdroni, temporary research fellow in Medieval and Modern Legal History and Dr. Angela Condello, post-doc fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies "Law as Culture" (Bonn, Germany).